Parents have gotten used to letting their children out despite Beijing's heavy pollution. (Photo : China Daily)
The Beijing No. 2 Experimental Primary School recommended its students to stay home on Tuesday because of the city's pollution situation, being the only public school in the city to do so, as reported by the Global Times.
The capital was blanketed in heavy smog from Saturday until Wednesday.
"Students who have someone to accompany them could choose to study at home on Tuesday," said a teacher from the school to the Global Times. "Those who do not have adults to take care of them still need to go to school and teachers will organize teaching activities for them."
According to teachers from other primary schools, no other public school allowed students to stay at home due to the orange air pollution alert, as most schools were reluctant to disrupt classes and the schedules of the parents of their pupils.
According to the teacher from Beijing No. 2 Experimental Primary School, their decision was in accordance with the announcement made by Beijing Municipal Commission of Education that requires schools to stop outdoor activities and gives them leeway to adjust teaching activities in accordance with the pollution situation.
The administrators of the school sent a message to parents on Monday night saying that due to the hazardous air pollution in Beijing, it would be impossible to open the school's windows. The school feared that air in the classrooms would grow stale, allowing germs to spread, according to a Tuesday report in Legal Mirror.
Another teacher from the school confirmed that only a few parents chose to send their children to school on Tuesday.
China uses a four-tier color-coded air pollution warning system, wherein red signifies the worst pollution, followed by orange, yellow and blue. A red alert, which has never been issued despite several cases of heavy smog recorded since 2013, means that heavy pollution is forecast for the next three days and all middle schools, primary school and kindergartens should suspend classes.
Some teachers fear that suspending classes might disrupt regular teaching activities, affecting students' school work. This may be the main reason most schools choose not to suspend classes.
"It is impractical for schools to suspend classes regularly due to heavy smog, considering that heavy air pollution has become normal in Beijing in recent years," one parent told the Global Times. "It is considerate for schools to suspend class to protect students' health, but it also might bring troubles to parents."
